1. Field
The present invention relates generally to road paving equipment. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention concern a pavement coating system configured to spray a mastic material to a road.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Paving construction and repair vehicles have long been used to dispense one or more types of flowable pavement coating materials onto an existing roadway. For instance, conventional paving vehicles are well known for laying, spreading, and screeding a layer of bituminous asphalt onto a roadway. Other conventional vehicles comprise a distributing vehicle that is configured to spray a liquified tack coat material onto an existing asphalt road surface.
Yet further, other known vehicles are configured to spray a friction mastic material that includes a liquid asphalt emulsion, aggregate, and one or more polymers. The mastic mixture is generally sprayed onto the surface of a paved road to extend the usable life of the road.
However, conventional paving construction and repair vehicles have various deficiencies. For instance, conventional vehicles that spray friction mastic material are difficult and expensive to use. For example, these conventional vehicles generally carry a large volume of mastic material that must be strained during the spraying process to separate aggregate particles and congealed clumps of material from the mastic to be sprayed and to store the separated particles and clumps in a straining basket. The process of removing the separated particles and clumps from the vehicle is notoriously time consuming and requires the use heavy machinery to lift and move the basket and material from the vehicle.
Another deficiency associated with conventional distributing vehicles is that sprayed material is easily wasted because of the difficulty associated with positioning and advancing the vehicle. For instance, the spray boom of prior art distributing vehicles is difficult to align precisely with the side margin of the roadway.